R.I.P. Heath Ledger

Got in to work today to be informed by a colleague that Australian actor Heath Ledger has died. I really can't believe it. Apparently he was found dead in his New York apartment in the early hours of this morning, with sleeping pills on a nearby table. However the Police have said that they found no prescription medication in the bathroom and that there were no obvious signs of suicide or foul play. (Go here for the full story).

So, WHY?

Heath was only 28 years old which seems so incredibly young - not only from my own 38 year old perspective, but to a lot of other people I should imagine. His acting career was just starting to really take off and he hadn't even lived a full life. And although I'd never personally been much of a Heath Ledger fan (I didn't know much about him if truth be known) I did think (as many will, I'm sure, agree) that he gave an amazing performance in Brokeback Mountain as the closeted gay ranch hand Ennis del Mar. A truculent, sometimes aggressive and not particularly likable character, but real for being all those things - such was the power of Ledger's portrayal. You really could believe that men like Ennis existed and felt a genuine sympathy for his plight - unable to fully acknowledge his sexuality and make public his love affair with "friend" Jack Twist - such was the anti-gay, homophobic environment of Wyoming. For many this must have been a far more genuine portrayal of what it was like to be gay than some upper class twit in a Merchant Ivory film or Noel Coward play. Ledger is also due to appear as the Joker in "The Dark Knight", the sequel to the 2005 "Batman Begins", both starring Christian Bale as the hero of the title. From the reports I've read, Ledger is brilliant as Batman's nemesis.

And just as his career starts to take an interesting direction, we lose him. What a waste of talent, potential and life. Again it begs the question - WHY??

I was a massive fan of River Phoenix in his heyday (in fact I still am) and remember being similarly distraught by his loss - another gifted actor, as well as a very beautiful and sensitive one, who surely had many interesting things ahead of him. Alas it wasn't to be. Unlike Ledger however, Phoenix's addiction to drugs in the latter stages of his life was undoubtedly what led to his downfall. At present, no-one can say exactly what has caused Heath Ledger's death; perhaps we'll know in due course. Very tragic news all the same.